The Church of Almighty God | God's will | Chapter 10. Those Who Love the Truth Have a Way to Follow
1. Whether People’s Conditions Are Normal Depends on Whether or Not They Love the Truth
Many people have brought up the following issue: After the above’s fellowship, they feel crystal clear, get stronger, and have no feelings of negativity—but such conditions only remain for about ten days, after which point they can no longer maintain normal conditions. What is the issue? Have you ever wondered what causes this? Why are your conditions so good within those first ten days or so? Some say that this is the result of not focusing on the truth. But then how would you have gotten to this level of normality after hearing the fellowship? Why were you so happy after hearing the truth? Some say it is due to the work of the Holy Spirit. Why then does the work of the Holy Spirit stop after ten days or so? Some say it is because they become idle and stop pressing onward and upward. Why wouldn’t the Holy Spirit work even when people are trying to make progress? Weren’t you trying to press onward and upward? Then why is the Holy Spirit not at work? The reasons people give are out of line with reality. Here, we must raise the following point: Whether the Holy Spirit is at work or not, people’s own cooperation cannot be overlooked. People who are clear about the truth and love the truth will always be able to remain in a state of normality, regardless of whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work. For those who do not love the truth—even if the truth is particularly clear to them and even if the Holy Spirit works greatly—there is a limit to the truth that they may practice and the amount of time during which they may practice. Apart from that time, they do nothing more than manifest their own nature and personal interests. Accordingly, whether or not a person’s conditions attain a level of normality and whether or not they can put the truth into practice is not solely determined by whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work, nor solely determined by whether or not they are clear about the truth, but rather depends on whether or not they are willing to practice the truth and whether or not they love the truth.
Normally, a person hears the truth and, for a time, their conditions are quite normal. In that time of normality, the truth is lifting your conditions into normality. It is making you aware of your own corrupt nature; your heart is happy and set free and your conditions take a turn for the better. But after a time, something might confuse you; the truth in you becomes obscured and you unwittingly put that truth to the back of your mind; you don’t try to seek God in your actions, you act on everything of your own accord and do not intend to practice the truth at all. As time passes, you lose the truth you had. You constantly manifest your own nature, giving the Holy Spirit no opportunity to work in you; you never seek the intentions of God; even when you draw close to God, you are just going through the motions. The moment you truly realize the reality of your ailment, your heart is a long way from God; you have resisted God in many things and uttered many blasphemies. There is still redemption for those who have not travelled too far down this path, but for those who have gone so far as to blaspheme God and pit themselves against God, vying for position, and for food and clothes, there is no redemption. The purpose of clear fellowship about the truth is to get people to practice the truth and to change their disposition, not just to make them happy. If you understand the truth but do not practice it, then fellowship about the truth and the understanding of the truth will be of no significance. If you understand the truth but do not practice it, you will lose your chance to gain the truth and lose all chances to be saved. If you practice the truth you understand, you will gain more, deeper truth; you will gain the salvation of God; you will gain the enlightenment, illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Many only complain that the Holy Spirit never enlightens them, but they do not realize that they are essentially not putting the truth into practice. Therefore, their conditions will never achieve normality and they will never understand the will of God.
2. You Only Need to Practice the Truth and the Way Will Open Before You
Some say that their problems will not be solved by practicing the truth. Others believe that the truth cannot completely solve people’s corrupt disposition. The fact is that people’s problems can all be solved; the key is whether or not people can act in accordance with the truth. Your current problems are not cancer or incurable diseases; if you can put the truth into practice, these problems can all be changed, depending on whether or not you can act according to the truth. If you are walking the right path, you will be successful; if you are walking the wrong path, you will be done for. For example, some people do their work never thinking about how they could do things in a way beneficial to the work or whether the way they do things conforms to the will of God; as a result, they do many things that God despises. If they were to act according to the truth in everything, would they not be someone who is after God’s heart? Some people know the truth but do not put it into practice, believing that the truth is just this and nothing more. They believe it can’t solve their own ideas and their corruption. Isn’t this kind of person ridiculous? Aren’t they absurd? Do they not fancy themselves clever? If people act according to the truth, their corrupt disposition will be transformed; if people believe in and serve God according to their natural personality, none of them can have their disposition transformed. Some people are caught up in their own concerns all day long and fail to investigate or practice the truth that is readily available. This practice is very absurd; such people are inherent sufferers, having the blessing but not enjoying it! The way is there, all it takes is for you to put it into practice. If you are resolved to put the truth into practice, your weakness and fatal flaws can be transformed, but you should always be cautious and careful and suffer more hardships. Believing in God takes a prudent heart—can you believe in God properly if you adopt such a casual manner?
Some people only arm themselves with some truths for emergencies or to forsake themselves and help others, not to solve their own troubles; we call them “selfless people.” They regard others as puppets of the truth and themselves as the masters of the truth, teaching others to hold fast to the truth and not to be passive, while they themselves are spectators on the sidelines—what kind of people are they? Armed with some of the words of truth only to lecture others, while doing nothing to prevent themselves from meeting their own destruction—how pathetic! If their words can help others, why can they not help themselves? We should call them hypocrites who have no reality. They supply words of truth to others and ask others to practice them, but make no effort to practice them themselves—aren’t they despicable? They clearly cannot do it themselves, yet they force others to put the words of truth into practice—what a cruel method this is! They are not using reality to help others; they are not providing for others with a heart of maternal loving; they are just deceiving people and corrupting people. If this carries on—with each person passing the words of truth onto the next—won’t everyone end up with only speak doctrines while being incapable of practicing the truth? How can such people be transformed? They do not recognize their own problems at all; how can there be a way for them?
Every problem has a way to be solved; for each problem there will always be relevant truth to consult to give you a way forward and enable you to change. Even if the transformation does not happen right away, you can now recognize your situation. If these truths could not solve people’s problems, then wouldn’t God have spoken in vain? Therefore, if you are willing to put the truth into practice, you will always have a way to follow.
From Records of Christ’s Talks
Source
from： Chapter 10. Those Who Love the Truth Have a Way to Follow
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